Before there was light, life, or land, there was only the ocean. The ocean was dark, and deep, and existed alone. But the ocean brought forth from itself life and light and land, and all these things were one thing. And when the ocean had brought forth light and life and land, then the ocean and the land together brought forth the gods. The ocean made the gods to create things from light and life and the land. The ocean made the gods to create souls and mountains and rivers and shadows, and all the things of the earth. Among the gods, the greatest was the first, and was known as the creator.

The creator was the god who lit the sun itself (the heat of the world which even the gods cannot touch), and the god who built the great chariot which still carries the furnace across the world, and in which all the gods reside. The creator was known by all the gods to be their greatest inventor, their finest crafter of souls and land and light. Thus when the creator brought forth two children, a boy and a girl, it was known that the children were destined to become great inventors as well, so they were sent far from one another.

The boy was named Daedalus, and the girl was named Tea. The boy, Daedalus, was sent to live in the great chain of islands in the south. The girl, Tea, was sent to live in the lands to the east.

This was long before Crow brought fire to the world, and the dark things still walked the earth at night, carrying off men and women. The great chain of islands were ever vulnerable, as the dark things would hide in the ocean from the light cast by the great furnace in the sky, and the islands had water on all four sides. The people of the islands feared the night most of all, for their numbers were few, and the numbers of the dark things were many. They would hide in the caves of the highest mountains, but still, every night, the cries of the dark things’ victims would echo across the land.

Though Daedalus was still very young, he wondered why they had to run and hide from the dark things every night. He asked the people of the island and they told him. “Young Daedalus, the dark things lived before there was light or life or land. They belong only to the dark, and all else is abhorrent to them. They are older and more powerful than the gods, which is why even the gods cannot touch the furnace which drives them away. We do not know why they take us, but it is surely for no good end, and so we must hide, and hope they do not find us.”

Daedalus thought upon this for a day and a night, and at last he determined he would stop the dark things. He called all the men and women of the island together and told them of his plan. “We will ring the island with a great maze,” he said, “and when the dark things come from the ocean to carry us off, they shall become lost in its twists and turns. We will know the true path, and may come and go as we wish, and at night we need only sleep at the center of the maze.”

“How is it,” asked one man, “that the dark things will never solve this maze?”

“Hah,” said Daedalus. “They cannot find but a few of us hidden in the caves, and I am ten times as clever as any ten of them put together. It is certain they will never see the true path.”

This was enough to assure the island village, and in a trice they set to building Daedalus’ maze. It took eleven days to cut the stones, and eleven days to move them into place, but when the maze was finished, and all the village knew the true path, they moved to its center and spent their nights there. Daedalus’ maze was as good as his word, and the dark things never learned the true path.

By this time Daedalus was very curious about what lay beyond the ocean. “I wish to see what lands there are beyond our great island chain, so let us build a boat and we shall travel where the winds carry us.” The people of the village feared this idea, for they wondered how such a boat would survive a single night on the ocean. But Daedalus assured them, “I have built a maze of stone on our island, so I shall build another maze on the boat and the dark things will not harm us.”

In a trice the boat was built, and Daedalus set around the four corners of its deck crosshatched game boards, and carved playing pieces from the bones of animals. “Now let us set sail,” he said, “and I will entangle any dark things in a maze of a new design.” Thusly Daedalus set sail.

The very first night, as the sun went down, Daedalus set out the carved bones on the playing boards. As the crew slept, the dark things climbed from the ocean onto the boat, but they were stopped by the boards, and soon young Daedalus matched each one in the game of carved bones until the light of dawn crept in under Night’s cloak, and the dark things climbed back into the ocean. Thus it was, each night. During the day, Daedalus would sleep for only two hours, and he would stay up the whole night through, matching the dark things in a game. For three nights he played, and on the fourth day the crew sighted land.

The men of these distant shores were amazed by the ships, and enthralled by Daedalus’ story. But upon mention of his name, they smiled with familiarity, for his was a legend well known amongst their village. They told him the story of the creator, and of the son and the daughter.

This was the first Daedalus had heard of his sister, and in the space of seven breaths he decided he must find her. “There is no better way to search than from the height of the furnace,” he determined, “so I must learn the secret of the birds and fly to the furnace, therein to find the creator, that I might be shown where my sister has gone.”

Making this determination, Daedalus set out into the great forest. Here he spent seven days and seven nights, learning the language of birds. And when he had learned all the languages of all the birds, he spoke with them, and asked them to teach him the secrets of flight. For yet another seven days, Daedalus learned the secrets of flying from the birds.

No sooner had he learned the secrets of flying, than young Daedalus grew a tree in the shape of a wing, and made feathers from paper, and with this he flew high into the sky, up to the chariot of the gods (for he was quite strong, and almost tireless). All the gods welcomed him to the chariot, as the gods did with all visitors - for so few were able to make the journey that any new visitor was quite rare. He was given wine and cheese and when he was refreshed he was taken before the creator.

He was greeted warmly, and the creator said, “I am glad to see you my son, and to see you have become a good man. Tell me what you would know?”

Daedalus greeted the creator just as warmly and replied, “All I wish to do is be reunited with my sister. If I may ride upon your chariot for one full day, that I may find her, I would be grateful.”

Thus Daedalus was granted a day in the chariot of the gods, and he watched the land below as they flew above it, until at the easternmost lands, Daedalus saw a great wall and knew that his sister would be there. He thanked the gods, and flew down to the wall.

It was not long before Daedalus found his sister, and there were many more stories between the two. Like the creator, each had a great family, and to this day, all the greatest creators are children of Daedalus or children of his sister Tea.